Does Creatine Make You Look Fat? This is a question that has been bothering many a bodybuilder for years. This article will show you the answer and the reason why this is one of the most heavily pursued sports today. If there were really a magic pill that could transform you into a different physique without having to work out until you dropped like a sack of potatoes then I would be very surprised. So what is the real answer?
It is my contention that creatine does not cause you to look fat but rather it causes you to retain water retention. It also helps to create more muscle mass which results in an increase in your rep strength. Many bodybuilders and athletes use high levels of creatine because they want to build more muscle mass to increase their rep power. This is why creatine is so popular with power lifters.
Now I should mention that I am a fitness expert (I’m just typing this right now) and I have spent quite a bit of time researching nutrition and exercise and working with people differently in order to help them reach their fitness goals. However, I don’t want you to take anything here. I am only sharing what I know because I believe you should do your own research and come to your own conclusion about creatine. The purpose of this article is to explain why some people think that creatine will make you look fat when in fact it will help you to retain water.
Here’s what I’m talking about. In order to get big muscles you need more energy and higher rep strength. But if you’re trying to drop pounds you don’t want to build more muscle mass or more rep strength – you just want to drop the extra water weight. So you can understand that trying to increase your muscle size will not help you drop excess weight, but it might help you retain water. In other words, when you’re doing a power clean at the gym you’re not going to be drinking water. But when you’re drinking water or taking creatine… you’ll be building lean muscle mass and water weight.
I hope you now understand the basic difference between trying to increase your rep power and adding extra water weight. Now let me explain why creatine might make you look fat when in fact it will help you retain water. Creatine is an ATP supplement and as I mentioned above is used by the muscles to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate). So what creatine does is it allows the muscles to produce ATP faster thereby allowing the muscles to replenish the ATP that it has just produced.
Here’s where I think the problem lies. The average body builder thinks that if they load phase their sets they’ll be able to maintain their rep power even if they’re carrying water. That’s wrong. No matter how much you load phase your sets, you won’t be able to maintain your rep power. The problem is that the muscles are burning ATP and not water. This is what creatine does; it allows the body to produce more ATP which allows the muscles to replenish the pool of ATP and therefore you’ll be able to maintain your rep strength.
